Experts have warned that the war in Ukraine is exacerbating the world’s already-alarming food crisis. The most affected are the vulnerable and developing countries. The World Food Program (WFP) estimates the number of “severely food insecure” has doubled, from 135 million before the pandemic to 276 million by early 2022.
The war in Ukraine is expected to push this figure up to 323 million by year-end. Based on modelling the anticipated shortages of food exported by Ukraine and Russia and assuming that exports are not increased elsewhere as a result – the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says: “The number of people undernourished by food insecurity is set to rise by nearly 19 million by 2023”.